Ski binding



H. D. ELSE sx1 BINDING April so, 1940.-

3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 29, 1936 INVENTOR /ar/y-E/Se. O`RNEY K vBY H. D. ELSE sx1 BINDING Fi'ld Aug. '29, 1956 April 30, 1940.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Har/y 2 E/Se.

R ATTORNEY WITNESS.

April 30, 1940. H. D. ELSE sx1 BINDINGY Filed Aug. 29. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENToR /a/fyDE/se. `BY

WITNESS ATTORNEY cramping and broken bones may result from a forward fall when using such a binding.

Experienced skiers insist on the use of the heel strap set up tightly in order to wedge the boot rmly between such side plates. Otherwise they do not have good control of the skis. Novices frequently try -to ski with only a plain toe strap in order that they may be able to remove their' feet quickly. My binding provides the safety desired `by the novice without sacrificing the control demanded by the expert.

The control provided by my binding is superior to that obtained with conventional bindings. With the conventional side-plate type of bind ing, some play develops due to crushing of the sides of the boot sole. My binding permits no lateral or angular play whatsoever between the boot and the ski in a plane parallel to the running surface. This horizontal control, moreover, is not lost when the foot is raised to any angle up to the releasing angle. This feature is of particular importance in at surface running and in making a Telemark turn in which the trailing foot is raised to an angle of approximately 30.

The heel lift which I obtain by pivoting at the toe of the boot and placing the spring members to the rear of the pivot line to hold the ski in yielding engagement with the ball of the foot is of importance in climbing, step turning, and any maneuver involving lifting one or both skis from the surface of the snow. With conventional bindings the sole of the boot forms contact with the ski plate over a relatively narrow surface lengthwise of the ski. This surface is located under the ball of the foot and there is vertical play under the toe. In attaching conventional bindings to skis some experts recommend placing the balance point of the ski slightly in advance of the cleats or toe strap on the binding so that the heel of the ski will tend to stay up when the foot is raised. Others use rubber bands or a coil spring attached to a strap around the ankle and a hook on the rear of the ski.

With my binding it is not necessary -to compromise the location endwise to obtain heel lift. No encumbrances at the ankles are required and the vertical position of the skis when in air is independent of the position of the heels of the boot.

Jumping offers a peculiarly difficult problem in binding design. As the jumper leaves the take-off he leans far forward which necessitates raising his heels. The toes of the skis, however, must be raised or the wind acting on the top surfaces would pull him down, shorten the jump and might cause a forward spil-1. Just before landing, the toes of the skis must be brought down so that the running surfaces make only a slight angle with the surface of the snow.

Jumpers usually employ a low hitch of the heel strap. By this it is meant that the forward ends of the heel strap are attached to the sides of the ski below the ball of the foot. This gives the operator some degree of control in a vertical plane since the cleats or toe strapare located forward of the ball of the foot. 'Ihis binding Iarrangement is particularly dangerous in case of a forward fall as the pressure of the heel strap builds up enormously if the heel is raised to any considerable angle, If yieldable heel straps are employed, lateral control of the ski is sacrificed. To withstand the pressure of the heel strap, ski boots, whether for jumping or general purpose work, must have extremely heavy soles usually braced by a metal insert under the arch.

The conventional combinations described above provide very uncertain control in jumping. My binding permits of a more flexible boot sole. Withthe ski held in engagement at both toe and ball of the foot, the position of the ski in the air can -be very accurately controlled by flexure of the toes. The shock of landing can be partly taken in the arches of the foot.

The use of a more exible boot sole, which is made possible by the elimination of heel straps, is of importance in ordinary skiing as it enables the operator to utilize the arches of the foot rather than maneuver in a at foot manner.

In the manufacture of my binding I prefer that the boot plate 5 be made of drop forged steel with a setting operation to insure uniformity of spacing and depth of the sockets. The balls 1 which may be of steel or bronze are placed in a holding fixture and the ski plate 3 is held in a position not necessarily touching any of the balls. Any clearances between balls and plate are filled in by the brazing or welding material.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, it will be noted that I provide clearances I4 at the bottom of each ball socket and I5 between each pair of sockets. This permits snow or ice which may accumulate in the sockets when walking to be forced out when the foot is placed in position on the ski. The exact shape of the clearances or reliefs is of no particular importance, but some form is desirable.

To assist in ,drawing the springs into position, I provide a strap I6 of light leather or webbing with loops I'I around each spring. The spacing between the loops is such that the springs can be drawn on one at a time.

A number of variations of my binding are possible. If large heel lift is desirable, the rear spring may be made exceptionally strong. If small heel lift is desired, the forward spring is made heavy and the other two may be omitted.

Certain variations in construction are illustrated in Figures 6, '7 and 8. As in the rst five figures, reference character I indicates the foot, and `2 the ski. A ski plate 2E havingr upturned ears or lugs 22 at its forward end is suitably secured by screws (not shown) or otherwise to the ski. In this construction, `I have shown a boot plate 23 imbedded between two layers of the boot sole 6.

To the forward end of the boot plate I attach a three-quarter round piece of metal bar or rod 24. This bar engages a semicircular slot in another metal bar 25 which is welded or otherwise secured to the ski plate 2I. These two bar members 24 and 25 form an open hinge or pivot similar to that formed by the balls and sockets in my preferred arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

Ears 22 on the sides of the ski plate engage the ends of bar 24 and'thus prevent lateral motion thereof.

To hold the'two members of the pivot in engagement, I provide a relatively rigid clamp or guard 26 of strong spring wire. The clamp or guard 26 preferably takes a form having three upwardly extending loops-a large center one and two smaller end ones-separated by reversely curved clamping portions 26a. The ends of this clamp or guard are journalled in holes 2l in the ears 22 described above. I may locate these holes with their centers on the axis 28 of the pivot. In this case it would be difficult to spring the clamp or guard 26 suiiiciently to bring the two pivot members into engagement. I prefer, therefore, to locate the centers 23 of the clamp journals and of holes 2l below and slightly forward of the pivot axis 28, as shown in Fig. 6. By this means I obtain complete release of the clamping action when the top of the clamp or guard is pressed forward. Likewise, when the boot is carried up and forward about the pivot, the clamp, which moves with the boot, releases the engagement of the pivot members.

To locate the setup position of the clamp or guard 2t, Iprovide small dents 3@ in thev top of the bar 2i for engaging portions 26a of the clamp. To provide heel lift I have shown a band 3| of elastic material, preferably live rubber, passing across the top of the boot and attached to screws 32 extending from the sides oi the ski 2 by means of. metal eye tabs 33 riveted to the scope of my invention. I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall kbe imposed thereon as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a ski binding, a rigid member attached to the ski, a rigid member attached to the boot adapted to form pivotal engagement with the rigid ski member at or near the toe of. the boot, yielding means acting on'the rigid boot member adapted to hold it in engagement with the rigid ski member when the boot is resting on or tilted to a small angle with respect to the principal surface of the ski and automatically releasing the boot member when the boot is tilted at a'large acute angle with respect to the principal surface of the ski.

2. In a ski binding, a rigid member attached to the ski, a rigid member attached to the boot adapted to form detachable engagement with the rigid ski member at or near the toe of the boot, and yielding means acting on the forward part of the boot biasing the pivotally related parts together and also biasing theboot into contact with the ski at some point tothe rear of the pivotal engagement, means maintaining the pivotal engagement when the boot is in contact with the ski or raised at a small angle thereto but automatically releasing the pivotal engagement when the boot is raised to form a substantial acute angle with respect to the principal surface of the ski.

3. A ski, a boot, one or more substantially spherical projections from the one adapted to seat in one or more substantially hemi-spherical recesses in the other, the lprojections and recesses forming a bearing with its axis at or near the toe of the boot, at substantially right angles to the principal axis of the ski and boot and parallel to the principal surface of the ski, and yielding means located to the rear of the bearing axis ment 'andbiasing the boot into contact with the ski at the'ball of the foot.

l. In a ski binding, a ski plate attached to the ski, a boot plate attached to the boot one or more journal projections from the one plate adapted tol engage a corresponding recess or recesses in the other plate and forming a bearing with its axis at or near the toe of the boot at substan` tially right angles to the principal axis of the bootv and ski and substantially vparallel to the running surface of the ski, and yielding means maintaining engagement of the bearing members When the boot is in position on the ski orv tilted at a small angle thereto but automatically releasing engagement when the boot is tilted to a large acute angle.v f

5. In a ski binding, a ski plate attached to the ski, a boot plate attached to the boot one or more substantially spherical projections from the one plate adapted to engage a corresponding recess or recesses in the other plate and forming a bearing with its axis at or near the toeof the boot at substantially right angles to theprincipal axis of the boot and ski and substantially parallel to the running surface of the ski', and oneor more springs of helically wound wire passing over the top of the boot, and arranged to bias the boot into engagement with the ski at Athe bearing members and at the ball of the foot.

6. kIn a ski binding, a ski plate arranged to engage tlie toe of the boot, a guard member extending thereover, anda coiled spring arranged to pass over saidguard member and to bias the boot into engagement with the ski plate, said guard. member beingv shaped to cause the coil spring to slip forward and release the boot when the boot is tilted forward to a considerable angle with respect to the ski.

7; A boot, a ski, two or more ball and socket v ski and boot, spring meansadapted to be set up by the operator for biasing the boot into engagement with the ski at the toe and at the ball of the foot, said spring means beingarranged to release the boot when it is tilted to a large angle with respect to the ski, the recess engagements being provided with relieved portions to permit egress of foreign material. i

8. 'A binding for a ski and boot comprising a pivotal mounting for the boot disposed on the ski,

a guard member extending over the 'tip of the boot and having a depression therein, and a helical spring seated in said depression for joining said guard and said ski.

9. A ski, a boot, one or more substantially spherical projections from the one adapted to seat in one or more substantially hemi-spherical recesses in the other, the projections and recesses forming a bearing with'its axis at or near the toe of the boot, at substantially right angles t0 the principal axis of the ski and boo-t and parallel to the principal surface of the ski, and yielding means located' to the rear of the bearing axis and passing over the top of the boot, said yielding means biasing the projections and recesses into engagement and biasing the boot into contact with the ski at the ball of the foot.

HARRY D. ELSE. 

